Arc 3 - Chapter 42: The Buck Stops Here

(Reverence 4, 59 / 1:10PM)

Barrels had pinned themselves against them. Stan and Gary, who both were outside in the backyard, dropped their guns. Raising their hands, they tread the red dirt slowly.

Once the agents got out handcuffs, it wasn’t until their hands were forced to drop down. Manhandling them, they heard clicks, and they felt metal clobber onto their wrists. The two of them saw the same thing happen to Fred and Diego, as they both were unconscious.

‘So I guess this is it…’

Being forced to get up, the blood that wallowed his shoulder began to dry. Walking with a slight limp to his step, their skin sweltered against the desert sun.

‘We really didn’t stand that much of a chance huh…’

Having a battalion surround the four of them, it was clear that there was no means for escape. With blurred eyes, Stan looked toward the hole, that same one Alexandra created. And out from it, were two familiar faces that were clogged with sadness.

Jenny looked about the same as Stan, while Gary and Jumbo remained uninjured. Once the six of them had grouped up, they still felt those barrels. Stan, Gary, Jenny and Jumbo began to kneel, while Fred and Diego were still asleep.

“Now we have to await orders from Briggs. He should be—”

A ravine began to grow from them.

Making way, one single agent pushed through without bumping. All of them staring at the wintry agent, he was slightly short in stature, but his face was as cold as Kepputhan ice.

With both arms, he held a 14-year old girl like she was his daughter. Reaching the group of criminals, he lowered Loraine right next to them.

“Briggs sir. Is that all you captured?”

“There was that Sumiko woman, but I chose not to capture her.”

“But why?”

“I gave her a punishment that was best suited for her. I view women as equal, but the likes of her shouldn’t be lumped into… them.”

Folding his arms, Briggs gave the agent a clear answer. Keeping his hands firm on his biceps, and with his boots glued to the dirt, he laid his eyes on Stan.

Out of everyone, Stan felt the agent’s eyes pierce through his soul. Seeing the way his eyes darken, the way he stood with such a straight back, everything in his swelling body froze.

“What did you guys expect?”

Gary, Jumbo, Lorraine, and Jenny looked into Briggs’ eyes, but it was like a void. No way to escape from that milky darkness, not even the barrels weren’t a threat to them.

“In the end, sinners pay a hefty price; either here or below.”

Three agents walked right next to Briggs.

Both Eren and Alexandra sustain the same injuries as Stan and Jenny. Barely able to walk, let alone stand, the two of them breathed through quivering throats.

Half of Ada’s right ear was sliced off. Her own blood beginning to dry, she laid her eyes on not the group, but Fred himself. Seeing him sleep, a warm smile creased her lips.

‘If only he wasn’t a sinner.’

Eren loosened the strain he had on his cheeks, and pushed his eyes on Gary. For such a simple group, for such geniuses who hold so much talent, they did something that no man wouldn’t dare do.

“If only you guys just complied.”

Briggs took two steps forward, and grabbed the top of Stan’s hair.

Having his face half a foot away from his, trickles of sweat swept from Stan’s face. While he kept them there, Briggs raised his left hand, and brought something metallic close to his neck. Stan couldn’t glance down, but he knew the aura a gun held.

“One wrong move, and I won’t hesitate to shoot you or your goons. Don’t make me spread your knowledge onto this useless dirt.”

Letting go of his hair, he pushed Stan to walk forward.

Step by step, their boots and shoes groveled in the dirt. Unwilling to loosen those crumbs, those pebbles that sunk in, and they had no choice but to wallow in their own discomfort.

Losing count of time, it wasn’t until Stan tilted his head. Noticing two pairs of black vans, his face slowly griseled in sweat.

As soon as he reached one of them, he was shoved in. Landing on his chest and stomach, he gruffed air through his throat, and balled himself like some armadillo.

“So for now, just wallow in your own mistakes.”

Gary, Jenny, and Jumbo all reached where he was balled. Stepping into the van, there were no windows, no seats. Only the wall and floor being their resting bags, they couldn’t care.

Resting on the wall, and sliding down toward the metallic floor, Gary kept his eyes low. Jenny and Jumbo glanced toward the agents, their eyes quivering with worry. Trying to take one last look, or one last view…

‘Iris…’

Thrown into the van like luggage, both of their chins grazed the metallic flooring. Their faces already swelled, already paled in purple and blue, their noses continued to ooze out blood. Treated like dirt, it was clear they weren’t going to be mended for medical attention.

Continuing to sleep, Jumbo moved his eyes toward the exit. Staring out, he—

He heard shouting.

“Let go of me!”

A group of guards circled around a girl and a man. Manhandling her with force, she wailed and fought back with balled hands. Punching his arm, it only tightened the grip he had on her wrist.

“Get in that van, or else I’ll—”

Lunging forward, she chomped straight onto his forearm.

Croaking out in pain, it cued him to let go. But with a great tug, he balled his left hand…

And rammed it into her liver.

Drool and saliva rummaging out from her lips, she gasped, as her body couldn’t contain the impact. Slamming her knees to the ground, her drool swept down her neck.

“You think you could bite me!?”

Pulling back his right foot, he thrust it into her stomach. Specifically her liver. With so much force, so much hate, another batch of saliva spazzed from her lips. Unwilling to hold her own body weight, both of her arms crumbled like collapsing cookies.

It was like a piece of hot iron had stabbed her, with the pain swelling her chest and legs. Her breathing rapid, she couldn’t control those heaving breaths.

“H-Hey that’s enough!”

Grabbing his shoulder, Eren yanked the agent back. With all the force in his shoulder, he managed to lead the agent away, but he saw the steam rise from his cheeks. In return, Eren sprouted a vein from his right eye.

“What’s wrong with you!? Kicking a little girl like that!? Really!?”

“Anyone who attacks us deserves to be punished! I’m only upholding the—”

—The air roared.—

Blood splattered his cheeks, and Eren felt the need to take a step back. Just as he did, he took two steps back… as the agent—

Collapse to the ground.

Blood riveting from his head, subtle bits of pink littered his body and clothes. Not a single ounce of breath swept out or in, and the silence took everyone’s lips away. Moving his eyes, Eren laid them on a subtle trail of gunsmoke.

“Briggs…”

Without reloading, Briggs holstered his desert eagle back into his hip. Looking at the corpse he created, nobody dared spoke. Turning his eyes to Eren, not a single flicker of light shone in his irises.

“Help her get in the van. After that, take them all to Ridgemente, just like what Doug ordered.”

“B-Briggs you—”

“Now.”

Eren’s breathing hardened, but he knew the price for raising his voice.

Turning to Loraine, she grabbed her hand, and dragged her without any struggle. She was quiet, and fear had blinded her soul to the letter. Having no other option given, all she could do was step foot into that black van.

Jogging toward the driver's seat, Eren opened it, and then settled himself in a disgruntled matter. Waiting for a few seconds, it was only to compose himself for both the ride …and what he saw. With the keys, he jabbed them into the transmission, and the van roared to life.

Pushing his hands into his pockets, Briggs noticed Ada’s jaw clattering repeatedly.

“Ada. Close those doors and ride shotgun with him.”

“Y-Yes sir…”

The rest of the agents stared with pale faces, while Ada herself stared into the last of the group of misfits. Tired eyes, eyes that began to cloud in darkness, she saw their own light fade… before closing those doors.

“Alexandra. Bring a body bag for Greg here. Tell the higher ups that he was shot by that beast-human.”

“O-Okay…”

Walking toward the passenger door, it didn’t take long before she settled subtly in her seat. Her hands resting on her thighs, not a single word was spoken.

He heard the van swift into motion. Turning toward the metal garnished in black, he saw the last of the criminals rode away. Keeping his hands balled, keeping them cooked in his own jacket, he then turned toward the sky.

Glistening his pale face by the sun… he basked in its glory; while the Dark Angels glossed in darkness.

________________________________________________________________________

(Reverence 4, 59 / 7:58PM)

“What now Fenix?”

They all had barrels on them.

They couldn’t escape if they wanted. He analyzed the guards, and then toward the chubby man who stood on charcoal. Last but not least, there was the trump card that stood on the train’s railguard.

—At this point, they have us all surrounded again. This time, it looks as if it has finally paid off.

He had his hands grip his uzis, and had the barrels of them aiming at the ground. Keeping them there, he glanced behind him, but he didn’t check in on his friends.

Noticing the brown van, he knew that there were a few others missing. If they did succeed, then that could only mean…

—Chris and Pacifica are in that van. I don’t know when they’ll strike, but if they do, I’ll make my move. So right now…

Luke pushed his uzis into his holsters. Once he did so, he raised both of his hands slowly, and had his palms facing the guards. Having his elbows stationed at a 90 degree angle, he kept his neck aligned with his back.

“Don’t harm us… please…”

His friends were at a loss of words.

Staring at Luke with dropped jaws, the soft wind couldn’t deter the eyes that he had pinned. So many thoughts, so many things they wanted to say, Luke knew of the frustrations they had. But if it meant no lead would snuff their life, then by all means.

“We’ll surrender.”

“Luke… what are you…”

“Please Miles, just follow my lead.”

He lowered himself, and rested his right knee on the ground. Keeping it there, he laid his other knee, and kept his eyes peeled forward rather than down.

Everyone else hesitated, as sweat swept from either their temples or cheeks. Feeling their skin glow, the only person who dared follow Luke… was Benn himself. Either he knew of Luke’s gamble, or out of loyalty, he dropped his rifle with a clack.

Once they heard that singular thump, everyone else began to drop their weapons. Handguns, rifles, anything they wielded was dropped. Following Luke’s example, they pushed their knees onto the muddy grass below.

“Don’t try anything funny. We won’t hesitate to kill any of you.”

This whole time, Doug kept his barrel locked on Luke.

Jumping off, the man in black felt mud groveling his soles. But even so, he didn’t let it get to him, as he pushed forward. Each step, each squish that trickled his ears, it wasn’t until he turned off the chains of his chainsaws.

“Just for safe measure…”

Holstering them on his sides, his hands were free at last. Pushing his hands in his pockets, his fingers scraped something old. Something ancient.

For a split second—no, he shivered. As if he was touching dry ice, he took out the objects with cluttering knuckles.

“You all are going to put these on. No exception.”

They were handcuffs, but they weren’t metal. The Dark Angels stared at the new object, or rather the new material. Looking at Kenichi, whose whole body quaked, it was more than just normal handcuffs.

Once Kenichi reached Luke, he cuffed both of his wrists together.

—What the…

His whole body felt limp.

Like he had run a marathon non-stop, his eyes slump low to his cheeks. He could stand, he could walk, but the thought of running and fighting was like a daydream.

—W-What are these cuffs?

When being cuffed to those white cobblestones, every person felt their arms and legs shrink in strength. As if they were drained, every man or woman felt their muscles mush into jello. Luke grimaced under these circumstances, his teeth clenched against one another. Once Kenichi was finished, he turned to Doug.

“They won’t be fighting us any longer.”

“Excellent. I knew those salt cuffs would do the job.”

“Salt cuffs…?”

“Yes. Salt cuffs. I don’t think you know the beauty of them, do you?”

With both of his feet on the edge of the container, Doug jumped off, and felt his whole body be slugged with gravity. Once he landed like a cat-human, a loud snap trembled their ears, and some of them turned away. But through hissing lips, he kept his vein-filled face from spilling emotion.

Shaking it off like nothing, Doug kept his trench gun close to his chest. Walking right next to Kenichi, he had on a frown, one that matched Benn in terms of coldness.

“Use your head Fenix. If your powers derive from magic bananas, then what nutrient does normal bananas have?”

“Potassium. Bananas have potassium.”

“And what do you suggest is the exact opposite of it?”

Luke looked down, and stared into the blades of grass brushing his knees. Feeling the night already clobber him, feeling the humidity sully his skin, he kept his mind filled with thoughts.

But at long last, he noticed the connection.

If blessings derived from crystal bananas, and if potassium comes from said bananas, then it was an easy guess. What sprinkled the grass with white, wasn’t a material, but an element. An element that was an indefinite counter.

—Does this mean… salt… is salt actually—

“These cuffs are just sodium. A blessing user’s greatest weakness.”

“So the shark-human got it right huh?”

Doug looked at Benn, who muttered the words right out of Luke’s mouth.

Benn glared, his eyes encapsulating the chubby man that stood near Kenichi. Unwilling to look at anyone else, he glanced to his right, and took note of their worrying faces. They wouldn’t fight, nor would they speak up.

Pushing one foot on the ground, the battalion of guards laid their fingers on their triggers. But they didn’t shoot.

“What are you planning to do with us? Take us to the Dome?”

“Considering that was your original sentence, I think you tallied up more than enough punishments. In fact, I think all of you deserve a sentence that rivals death.”

Gripping his trench gun with one hand, he had his right encapsulate the center of it. With his left, he balled his hand, and rested his eyes not on Luke, but on Christian. Feeling the man’s glare, he gulped once, and marinated his throat with his own saliva.

“My daughter has been beaten twice. And in those two times, it was that same dark-complected girl who did it.”

Moving his eyes toward Sean, he wasn’t healed from his earlier fight. Hope didn’t have the chance, as he laid on the grass that tickled his neck. Doug’s hand tightened the wood and metal, his fingers trying to dig deep into the gun. Worsening his frown, both of his lips reached the bottom of his chin.

“And my wife was defeated twice as well. Once by another group, and a different group. For a bunch of criminals, you all are… really irritating.”

Luke took note of the trench gun, as he noticed the cartridge already bucked in. And hearing the way Doug spoke, he felt his body recoil the venom he had, the poison that sulked his voice.

Keeping his eyes away, so did the Dark Angels. But Benn still stood.

“Right now. I could dive deep into my own demons; and summon a firing squad like old times. But that would be cruel.”

Doug began to walk toward Benn.

Brushing past Luke, brushing past the other Dark Angel members, he moved his trench gun toward his chest yet again. Without cocking it back, he laid his finger on the side, while his boots squished the sultry mud.

Stopping a meter in front of him, the two of them shared the opposite of a bond.

“Yet right now, the more I see you stand like some… dreamer… a firing squad sounds not too bad.”

Kenichi didn’t follow Doug, but kept his eyes on Luke and the others. As Benn and Doug had some sort of standoff, a difference between ideologies, it was bound to happen.

“Now tell me sharky. Do you know when was the last time you guys had a dreamer?”

“You mean a martyr?”

“Yet what he did, matched the consequences as followed.”

Benn took a step forward.

The two of them half a meter apart, all of the guards at his disposal were waiting for their cue. But it didn’t come. Without flinching, and without waving a hand, he kept his posture firm and steady. Like a building that was reinforced by flexible concrete, he wouldn’t crumble by a mere gust of wind.

“Either your brain is the size of a sushi roll, or you're filled with hate.”

“The guess is yours.”

“Then is both valid?”

Doug analyzed his face, and the way he showcased himself. A man that knew the bottom, and knew what true suffering was. Clicking his tongue, and moving his finger toward the trigger, the way he didn’t abide by those above him… made him twitch his eye.

“If you want me to expose your little secret, then sit down.”

“What secret?”

“I don’t know sharky, wanna tell them? They’re your friends after all.”

Taking a step back, Doug allowed the attention to be drawn toward his friends.

Luke looked at Benn, and Benn couldn’t give him an ounce of iris or pupil. Like he was avoiding their gazes, their stares even, some of them murmured and whispered.

—Secret? From Benn?

“Unfortunately for you Luke Fenix, but you have yourself the son of a monster.”

Benn let go of that cold frown. Replacing it with slightly widened eyes, he wanted to take a step forward, but he felt those barrels.

“This man right here. This sinner. His father was none other than Kirk The Shark-Human.”

The guards chuckled to themselves, as the bomb-shell that Doug dropped loosened their weapons. Making fun of the beast-human, it was as if they treated it like some joke.

But the Dark Angels didn’t speak.

Staring at Benn with dropped jaws, or sealed lips, they were stunned that such a person was related to him. Christian felt his lips churn, and his stomach boil. Out of everyone, he wasn’t just surprised, but he felt… anger.